Unchained Luxury & The TikTok generation
This article was originally written by Demi Karanikolaou in Greek for Harper’s Bazaar Greece. You can find it here.
It has already been over a decade since we entered a new digital era and our lives have radically changed compared to the first days of platforms like Myspace or Facebook. It would almost seem impossible for one to not have heard the word “Tik Tok” over the last few years. The relatively new platform keeps on growing its user base, while its short videos - which include lip synching, dancing or jokes- have become an internet sensation. The success of TikTok has been so evident in fact, that other competitive platforms have already created similar new features. Luxury fashion houses have slowly, but surely, stopped resisting and have joined the craze, creating their profiles and a new type of content. Despite having started as an afterthought, fashion content has become a vital part of a luxury marketing strategy. Somewhere between the many influencers, photoshop or the plethora of ads however, life has ended up being showcased online as a false image of perfection, causing many to accuse social media for creating fake and unattainable standards.
Having enjoyed internet access from their childhood, Gen Z (1996-2015) was the first generation that had been exposed to content presenting life as a fake utopia from an early age. Traditional media have also been historically portraying the better side of life almost exclusively. However, nowadays platforms like Instagram are showcasing celebrities, companies and normal people like a flawless window display. Tired from this false portrayal of life and unattainable standards, a large number of young people looked elsewhere for a more carefree way of creating content and a sense of community. Having been started from China, Tik Tok quickly gained a large following in the West, consisting of mostly youngsters who are attracted to it for the fun, creative and extremely addicting way that they can use it to showcase their daily lives and thoughts. It’s algorithm seems to also be attracting users, since it is based on the topic of the content instead of the popularity of its creator. TikTok videos appear to be effortless and oftentimes involve dancing challenges, personal thoughts, tips or stories. The personal nature of this type of content can easily explain why 60% of TikTok’s users are indeed GenZ, while the rest of them are mostly Millennials.
To no surprise, luxury maisons were not expected to be the ones trying this new platform first, since they have been historically striving for stiff total control and exclusivity. TikTok’s content seemed at first to be the opposite of that, threatening to break luxury’s facade of perfection, while the rather young audience was also not expected to be the typical luxury customer, able to spend thousands on the latest it-bag. However, it was quickly proven that luxury needed to have a presence on TikTok in order to survive. The statistics are speaking for themselves: Gen Z constitutes for about 25% of the total spending power in our society, while Millennials represent 40-45% of the total luxury sales (with GenZ taking over by 2045). These numbers made it pretty evident that companies and organizations needed to urgently prioritize speaking to these consumers early on. The luxury “dream” as some call it - the reason why a consumer would be willing to spend more on a certain branded product over another- requires years of building a consistent narrative, oftentimes needing more than a decade for a brand. This only proves further that the right time to start speaking to those 25 year old consumers is when they are around the average age of a TikTok user.
Undoubtedly the whole luxury customer journey has also changed radically. About 60% of customers are actively looking online for inspiration and to discover new brands.This trend is also reflected in digital content consumption which continues to rise beyond any expectations. Social media, being a big part of digital content, have also benefited and statistics show that about 25% of adults in the US have actually completed a purchase directly on social media. Tiktok seems to be luckily positioned in the best place possible in the middle of this digital revolution, which made it the No 1 downloaded app worldwide with more than 700 million users - the future of fashion. Heritage brands, being able to recognise the urgency, have already started creating solid strategies in this new platform. Celine, for example, recently showcased their new collection in Monaco. The event was promoted through ads on TikTok with more detailed content being available on their profile. Similarly, Moncler took advantage of TikTok’s creative and engaging capabilities and asked users to take part in a challenge. There swthey would showcase their best looks, inspired by iconic Moncler puffer jackets, using household items like pillows.
Looking past the business opportunities, TikTok seems to be leading a new way for companies to address and connect with people on a different level. Speaking to a customer in their own language - which in the case of GenZ is digital and social media - seems to be more important and vital than ever. Users seem to be looking for more fun, honest and less pretentious content, a direction that can easily be included in any existing marketing strategy in order to help an organisation connect with its future customers. Young people take center stage and declare their needs or wants, while building the world of tomorrow. The fashion industry can do nothing but listen and adapt, whether that comes naturally or needs additional effort to do so.